2011 Spring Program Orientation

Friday, May 6, 2011

The orientation was finally held in spite of some delays caused by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. Unfortunately some international students could not make it on time, but it was the very first event we looked forward to in this school year. The Dean, Professor Tohji, handed a certificate to each student in the orientation. The students made their first step towards becoming Environmental Leaders.

Greeting from the dean

First of all, I would like to say “congratulations” to all of you for joining the Environmental Leadership Program. And I want to apologize for the 1 month delayed start of this program due to the huge earthquake. Since our school was established in 2003, we hope to build up the education program to foster the elite students who will be able to manage and lead the environmental society and technology of the world. Last year, thanks to the continuing effort of Prof. Taniguchi, the previous dean of our school, and faculty members, we were able to start this Environmental Leader Program, “Strategic Energy and Resources Management and Sustainable Solutions”, supported by JST, the Japan Science and Technology Agency.

In this program, we plan to foster students as leaders in Asia and Africa who can manage the global environmental problems in the field of energy, resources and water. And our final goal of this program is to develop human resources which hold the key for solving future environmental issues in Asia and Africa. Therefore, all of you have to learn various skills such as international perspective, practical ability, management ability, strategic planning, and so on. Of course, all of you should be top-class researchers in your research field.

I think all of you have the makings of environmental leaders. Therefore, I believe that you will clear many barriers in the education curriculum and become environmental leaders in the end of this program. Finally, our school promises to help all of you in a variety of ways.